- Chichen Itza
Chichen Itza was a large pre-Columbian city built by Maya people of terminal classic period. The archeological site is located in Tinum municipality, Yucatan State, Mexico.
It is listed in UNESCO world Heritage site. Where its official name is Pre-Hispanic city of Chichen Itza. The site exhibits a multitude of architectural styles, reminiscent of styles of Northern Maya lowlands.
The city may have had the most diverse population in the Maya world. ‘A factor that could have contributed to variety of architectural styles at the site’. The ruins of Chichen Itza are federal property and sites stewardship is maintained by Mexico’s National.
The name ‘ Chichen Itza’ means “at the mouth of well of Itza” where ‘chi’ means mouth or edge. Ch’en means well. Itza is the name of ethnic -lineage group that gained political and economical dominance of the northern peninsula.
Chichen Itza is one of the most visited archeological sites in Mexico with over 2.6 million tourists in 2017.
2. Christ the Redeemer
Christ the Redeemer is an art deco statue of Jesus Christ in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It was created by French sculptor Paul Landoski. And built by Brazilian engineer Heitor dos Silva Costa, in collaboration with French engineer Albert Caquot.
Romanian sculptor Gheorghe Leonida fashioned the face. It was constructed between 1922 and 1931 with the cost of almost USD 250,000. It is 30 meters (98ft) high excluding its 8-metres (26ft) pedestal. The arms stretch 28 meters (92ft) wide. The statue weights 635 metric tons.
It is located at the peak of 700 -meter (2300ft) Corcovado Mountain in the Tijuca forest National Park overlooking the city of Rio de Janeiro. It is symbol of Christianity across the world. the statue has also become a cultural icon of both Rio de Janeiro and Brazil. And it was voted one of the new Seven Wonders of the World.
3. Machu Pichhu
Machu Pichhu is a 15th- century Inca citadel. It is located in the Eastern Cordliera of southern Peru, on a 2,430 meter (7,970ft), mountain ridge. It is located in the Machu Pichhu District within Urubamba Province above the sacred valley, which is 80 kilometers (50 miles) northwest of Cazco.
The Urubamba River flows past it, cutting through the Cordillera and creating a canyon with a tropical mountain climate. It is listed in UNESCO world heritage site and its official name is Historic Sanctuary of Machu Pichhu.
In the Quechua language, Machu means “old or old person”. Pichhu means either “portion of coca being chewed” or “pyramid, pointed multi sided solidi; cone”. The name of site is sometimes interpreted as “Old Mountain”.
It was declared a Peruvian historic sanctuary in 1981 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983. In 2007, Machu Picchu was voted one of the new Seven Wonders of the World in a worldwide internet poll.
4. Colosseum
The Colosseum is an oval Amphitheatre in center of city of Rome, Italy. Just east of the Roman forum. It is the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built. And is still the largest standing amphitheatre in the world today, despite its age.
Construction began under the emperor Vespasian in 72 AD. And was completed in 80 AD under his successor and heir, Titus. Although substantially ruined because of earthquakes and stone -robbers, the Colosseum is still an iconic symbol of Imperial Rome. It was listed as one of the new Seven Wonders of the World.
It is one of the Rome’s most popular tourist destination. The Colosseum is also depicted on Italian version of the five- cent euro coin. The name Colosseum for the amphitheatre is attested from the 6th century, during late Antiquity.
The name Colosseum is believed to be derived from a colossal statue of Nero on the model of Colossus of Rhodes. The word Colosseum is a neuter Latin noun formed from the adjective colosseus, meaning “gigantic”.
5. Petra
Petra, originally known to its inhabitants as Roqmu is a historic and archaeological by mountain of Jabal Al-Madbah. It is in a basin surrounded by mountain forming the eastern flank of Arabah valley running from Dead Sea to Gulf of Aqaba.
The area around it has been inhabited from as early as 700 BC. And the Nabataens might have settled in what would became the capital city of their kingdom, as early as the 4th century BC. Archaeological works has only discovered evidence of Nabataen presence dating back to second century BC, by which time it has become their capital.
On December 6, 1985 it was designated a world Heritage Site. In a popular poll in 2007, it was also one name of the new seven wonders of world.
6.Taj Mahal
Taj Mahal (crown of the palace) is a Nory white marble Mausoleum on the southern bank of the river Yamuna in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1632 by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan (reigned from 1628 to 1658) to house the tomb of his favourite wife Mumtaz Mahal.
It’s also house the tomb of Shah Jahan himself. The tomb is the centerpiece of a 17 hectare (42-acre) complex which includes a mosque and a guest house and is set of formal gardens bounded on three sides by a crenellated wall.
It is believed to have been completed in its entirety in 1653. At a cost estimated at the time to be around 32 million rupees. Which in 2020 would be approximately 70 billion rupees (about US 956million). The constructions project employed some 20,000 artists under guidance of a board of architects led by Ustad Ahmad Lahauri.
It was designates at a UNESCO world Heritage site in 1983 for being the jewel of Muslim art in India. And one of the universally admired masterpieces of world’s heritage. It attracts 7-8 million visitors a year of in 2007. It was declared a winner of new Seven Wonders of the World.
7.Great wall of China
The Great Wall of China is a series of fortifications that were built across the historical northern borders of ancient Chinese states and imperial china as a protection against various nomadic groups from the Eurasian steppe.
Several walls were built from as early as the 7th century BC. With selective stretches later joined together by Qin Shi Huang (220-206BC), the first emperor of China. Little of the Qin wall remains. Later on, many successive dynasties built and maintained multiple stretches of border walls.
The most well-known sections of walls were built by the Ming dynasty (1368-1644). The remaining great wall associated sites include 10,051 wall sections, 1,764 ramparts or trenches, 29,510 individual buildings of 2,211 fortifications or passes with wall of trenches spanning a length of 21,196 km (13,171 miles).
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